The Differences Between Java, C And C++

This article aims to set out some of the differences between C, C++ and Java. What it does
not aim to do is conclude that one language is always the best one to use. Language choice
depends upon a range of factors including field of application (operating
systems, desktop software, web applications etc), what programming paradigm suits the
application (OOP, procedural, etc), the target platform and available programmer expertise.
What follows should help you decide where it might be suitable to use C, C++ or Java.

Paradigm

C is geared towards procedural programming. That is, you write a number of procedures to
do certain tasks and build up a program by calling those procedures as needed.

Java, on the other hand, is geared towards OOP (object oriented programming). With OOP,
you define classes which represent an entity (for example, a window, a button, a string of
text, a file). From one class many objects may be created, with every object of a certain class
having the fields (places to store data) and methods (named blocks of code associated with
the object) as defined by the class.

It is possible to write in an object oriented style in C and in a procedural style in Java, but in
each case the language will somewhat get in your way. C++ is designed to support both
paradigms.

Preprocessor

All C and C++ compilers implement a stage of compilation known as the preprocessor. The
preprocessor basically performs an intelligent search and replace on identifiers that have
been declared using the #define or #typedef directives. #define can also be used to declare
macros. For example, a macro MAX(x,y) could be defined to return whichever of x or y holds
the greatest value. This is not like calling a function as the substitution is done before the
code is compiled. Most of the preprocessor definitions in C and C++ are stored in header
files, which complement the actual source code files.

Java does not have a preprocessor. Constant data members are used in place of the
#define directive and class definitions are used in lieu of the #typedef directive, however
there is no substitute for macros, which can be useful. The Java approach to defining
constants and naming types of data structures is probably conceptually simpler for the
programmer. Additionally, Java programs don't use header files; the Java compiler builds
class definitions directly from the source code files, which contain both class definitions and
method implementations.

Memory Management

In C and C++, any memory that is allocated on the heap (e.g. using malloc or new) must be
explicitly freed by the programmer (e.g. using free or delete). Forgetting to free memory leads
to memory leaks, and in long-running programs can lead to the memory usage of the
program growing very large.

Java provides garbage collection, meaning that memory is freed automatically when it is no
longer reachable by any references. This prevents memory leaks, but can lead to pauses in
execution while the garbage collector runs. Also, there is no promise of timely destruction in
Java.

Pointers

Most developers agree that the misuse of pointers causes the majority of bugs in C and C++
programs. Put simply, when you have pointers, you have the ability to attempt to access
memory that isn't yours and modify memory relating to a different data structure than the one
you intended by accident. C/C++ programmers regularly use complex pointer arithmetic to
create and maintain dynamic data structures. It's powerful, but can lead to a lot of time spent
hunting down complex and often subtle bugs that arise as a result of having unguarded
memory access.

The Java language does not support pointers. Instead, it provides similar functionality by
making heavy use of references. A reference can be thought of as a "safe pointer" - the
programmer can not directly manipulate the memory address. Java passes all arrays and
objects by reference. This approach prevents common errors due to pointer
mismanagement. It also makes programming easier in a lot of ways simply because the
correct usage of pointers is easily misunderstood by inexperienced programmers.

C++ does provide references too. It considers them as aliases to another variable or object.
They are safer than pointers where they can be used.

Bounds Checking

An array in C or C++ is not bounds checked, so attempts to access the sixth element of a 5-
element array will appear to work - that is, no runtime error will occur. This means the
programmer needs to code very carefully, especially considering the potential for buffer
overflow attacks.

Java will bounds check arrays to prevent this from happening, of course with a little extra
runtime cost.
Portability And Performance

C and C++ both compile to native machine code. This means that, with a good compiler,
programs written in these languages will perform very well. However, it also restricts them to
running on the platform they were compiled to run on.

Java generally compiles to Java bytecode, which then runs on top of a virtual machine (the
JVM). The JVM has to turn instructions in the bytecode into instructions that are understood
by the machine that the bytecode is running on. This gives a runtime performance penalty
(although this is getting less significant as the JVM improves and computers get faster).
However, now only the virtual machine (and standard library) have to be ported to different
platforms, then the bytecode for many Java programs can be executed on that platform. So
bytecode is portable accross different operating systems and processors.

Complex Data Types

There are two types of complex data types in C: structures and unions. C++ adds classes to
this list. Java only implements one of these data types: classes.

A structure can be emulated by a class - simply write a class without any methods and make
all the fields public. However, emulating a union is not always possible in Java, and the
memory saving advantages unions hold in C may not carry accross. Java presents a simpler
model but at the cost of not being able to save a little memory. For manyapplications this
will be a non-issue.

Strings

C has no built-in string data type. The standard technique adopted among C programmers is
that of using null-terminated arrays of characters to represent strings. This practice if often
seen in C++ programs too.

Neither C++ or Java have string as a primitive type, but they do both have string objects that
are a standard part of the language. In Java this type is called String, and in C++ it is called
CString.

Multiple Inheritance

Multiple inheritance is a feature of some object oriented languages that allows you to derive
a class from multiple parent classes. Although multiple inheritance is indeed powerful (and
sometimes the logical way to define a class hierachy), it is complicated to use correctly and
can create situations where it's uncertain which method will be executed. For example, if
each of the parent classes provide a method X and the derived class does not, it is unclear
which X should be invoked. It is also complicated to implement from the compiler
perspective.

C++ supports multiple inheritance. Java provides no direct support for multiple inheritance,
but you can implement functionality similar to multiple inheritance by using interfaces in Java.
Java interfaces provide method descriptions but contain no implementations. Therefore
implementations can only be inherited from one class, so there is no ambiguity over which
method to invoke.

Operator Overloading

Operator overloading enables a class to define special behaviour for built-in operators when
they are applied to objects of that class. For example, if the * (multiply) operator was to be
used on two objects of type Matrix, then matrix multiplication could be implemented. This
allows object types to feel much more tightly integrated into the language and can deliver
much clearer code. However, sometimes it is not clear what a particular operator would
sensibly do for a particular type, whereas a well-named method call would be clear.

Operator overloading is considered a prominent feature in C++. It is not supported in Java,

probably in an effort to keep the language as simple as possible and help ensure it is obvious
what code does, even though it may take longer to type and read.

Automatic Coercions

Automatic coercion refers to the implicit casting of data types that sometimes occurs in C and
C++. For example, in C++ you can assign a float value to an int variable, which can result in
a loss of information, although a compiler warning will be given about this. Java does not
support C++ style automatic coercions. In Java, if coercion will result in a loss of data, you
must always explicitly cast the data element to the new type.

Goto Statement

The goto statement is rarely used these days in C and C++, but it is a standard part of the
language. The goto statement has historically been cited as the cause for messy, difficult to
understand, and sometimes near impossible to predict code known as "spaghetti code." The
primary bad usage of the goto statement has merely been as a convenience to substitute not
thinking through an alternative, more structured branching technique. Very occasionally, it
can lead to clearer code.

To avoid the potential for "spaghetti code", Java does not provide a goto statement. The Java
language specifies goto as a keyword, but its usage is not supported. This is consistent with
Java's desire to make programmers write clear, non-messy code.
Variadic Arguments

C and C++ let you declare functions, such as printf, that take a variable number of
arguments. Although this is a convenient feature, it is impossible for the compiler to
thoroughly type check the arguments, which means problems can arise at runtime without
you knowing. Java doesn't support variable arguments at all, though if it did it would likely be
able to handle subsequent runtime problems better than C or C++.

Command-line Arguments

The command-line arguments passed from the system into a Java program differ in a couple
of ways from the command-line arguments passed into a C++ program. First, the number of
parameters passed differs between the two languages.

In C and C++, the system passes two arguments to a program: argc and argv. argc specifies
the number of arguments stored in argv. argv is a pointer to an array of characters containing
the actual arguments. In Java, the system passes a single value to a program: args. ‘args’ is
an array of Strings that contains the command-line arguments.

Table Comparing C, C++ and Java

Feature C C++ Java

Procedural, OOP, Generic
Paradigms Procedural OOP, Generic Programming
Programming (from Java 5)
Form of Executable
Executable
Compiled Native Java bytecode
Native Code
Source Code Code
Managed, using
Memory
Manual Manual a garbage
management
collector
Yes, very
commonly
Yes, very No pointers;
used, but
Pointers commonly references are
some form of
used. used instead.
references
available too.
Preprocessor Yes Yes No
String Type Character Character Objects
 arrays,
arrays
objects
Structures,
Complex Structures,
unions, Classes
Data Types unions
classes
Single class
inheritance,
Multiple class
Inheritance N/A multiple
inheritance
interface
implementation
Operator
Overloading N/A Yes No
Yes, with Yes, with Not at all if loss
Automatic warnings if warnings if could occur;
coercions loss could loss could msut cast
occur occur explicitly
Variadic
Yes Yes No
Parameters
Goto
Yes Yes No
Statement